


All Night Long

by oldmarriedcouple



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: F/M, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, M/M, Slow Burn, boys being stupid, i don't think it's super angsty the end is happy i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 03:02:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17910755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oldmarriedcouple/pseuds/oldmarriedcouple
Summary: Travis Konecny and Nolan Patrick were teammates. Then they were friends. Then, they were a whole lot more.  But both of them being too stubborn to broach the subject may have them fall apart, until only a team in common remains. AKA These two are peak dumbass this whole time, and they've committed so many shenanigans that nobody pays them any fucking attention anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be my first crack at a multi-chapter fic!  
> It's inspired by that video of Travis and Nolan dancing towards one another in the locker room after the Stadium Series. Though the Stadium Series itself won't take place in this fic until the end, because I'm attempting to make this a slow burn...we'll see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mainly just a set-the-stage kinda thing I guess?  
> I dunno I liked it so I put it in. They are dumb boys. They like each other. They are stupid and don't know how to talk and therefore will probably ruin it. But they will try.

Travis always liked victory dancing through the locker room. He loved making personalized handshakes with each of the equipment guys. He loved hyping his boys up after a win. He loved springing his personality on unsuspecting team members. Out of all these things the one Travis Konecny loved doing the most was making Nolan Patrick smile. Ever since they had started - well, they hadn’t really talked about what they were or were doing together, since getting words about feelings out of Nolan was worse than pulling teeth - since they had started spending even more time together (if that’s possible) it seemed to be easier than it used to, at least when they were in private. So often, on the nights that Nolan would stay with Travis in his apartment, which was increasingly more often (“Yours is closer to the ground floor I don’t want to walk more stairs shut up it’s just easier dude”) Travis would turn on music and dance from his living room to his kitchen, towards his... _friend with benefits_? No, they seemed more serious than that... _Intimate buddy_? **Weird, okay, not that.** Nolan. Travis would dance across the room towards Nolan, who would just stand there in the kitchen and watch him approach, shaking his head and trying (but failing) to keep his face as deadpan as possible. Every time, Travis could make Nolan smile.

Nolan did not victory dance through the locker room. Nolan didn’t really dance with Travis in private either, though he would sometimes when Travis held him by the bicep, looked up at him and said

“C'mon Patty it’s fun!”

So on occasion, Nolan would “dance” with Travis. It was on nights they would attempt to make themselves dinner, so Nolan can count the number of times on one hand. It was never really  _with_  Travis, and more that when Travis turned on his music in the living room, once he crossed the room to Nolan, Nolan would then start mimicing Travis' moves. He still would stifle a laugh when he did it though, so Travis counted it as a win.

Nolan liked Travis too, of course. He wouldn’t be fucking around with him and only him if he didn’t. But he was drafted 2nd overall. Cameras followed him better than his own shadow, or his growing injury resume. Nolan, being drafted 2nd, would be more of a center of attention than he would like for a very long time. So while he liked Travis, he kept his own apartment upstairs. He didn’t dare with the word “boyfriend”. He wasn’t even sure that was what was happening. Sometimes bros just help each other out sexually and emotionally, it’s no big deal, but that getting out? Nolan Patrick, drafted 2nd overall sometimes made out with and slept with and basically lived with another dude? Absolutely not. Nolan hated the media already. He didn’t need them prying into his love life, or lack thereof. So he and Travis remained unnamed. Nolan didn’t want PDA outside of their apartments or hotel rooms, worrying about who would see. Travis had on occasion been a bit less subtle in the locker room, to Nolan’s horror, but he since calmed down once he realized that nobody thought anything of it. Everyone was used to Patty and TK and their shenanigans. It was their brand. So Travis would be slightly less subtle, but wouldn’t get the same easy smiles out of Nolan that he did in private.

Nolan, who had trouble communicating his emotions and separating his personality from the media's portrayal of the Second Overall Pick, paired with Travis, who jumps to conclusions and overanalyzes every interaction ever, need to figure their shit out before they ruin everything.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis asks for clarification on their situation, and Nolan says some words he can't take back.  
> The boys get in a fight that's worse than usual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Nolan kinda a dick in this story lol sorry buddy. He'll come around don't worry! These boys have quick tempers and say things they don't mean.

Travis had broached the subject of “boyfriends” once. After he and Nolan had hooked up a few too many times for it to just be dudes helping their friends out. It wasn’t great.

Travis had come down from his high and registered Nolan behind him. He rolled over so he could face him, and pulled his hands up to play with his hair. Nolan would murder him if anyone found out, but he loved it when people ran their hands through it.

“So like. Not to be girly and shit, but what are we?” Travis had asked, looking up at Nolan. His eyes were closed, he seemed content with Travis’ attentions on his hair, but once the question was asked his half smile was replaced with a small frown and furrowed brows as he opened his eyes.

“What do you mean dude? We’re just having fun, right?” Nolan had asked, confusion evident in every syllable of his long-for-him questions.

Travis was nothing if not determined; however, and took a minute to gather his thoughts before attempting to ask. He knew if he explained it to Patty rationally, he’d get it. Patty always got it. Patty always got _him_ , that was why this worked so well.

“I just mean, like. We’ve been doing this a lot more recently…” he paused to gently run his thumb up Nolan’s _incredibly handsome_ jawline, and took note of the way his eyes started to slip shut from the action. “And you’re here almost all the time now, which is great! It’s fun! But I dunno I feel like with all that do you want to make it, I dunno, official?” He finished lamely, distracted by Nolan leaning his face into Travis’ palm. Again, Nolan looked incredibly confused, though a little amused?

“TK we’re literally playing for the same team that’s as official as it gets. Our stalls are next to each other in the locker room. I live upstairs. What else could you want? To be lineys? That’s not our call” His half smile was back. But Travis was too wrapped up in how _stupid_ his best friend could be sometimes to even notice. He took a deep breath and went for direct. Nolan wasn’t stupid but he wasn’t the most emotional guy out there, so sometimes he just didn’t think about it.

“I know being lineys isn’t our call idiot, but I mean...us being boyfriends...that could be.” Travis had said it slowly in the hopes of Nolan understanding each word as it came in, with no room for misunderstanding. Nolan, who had his arms around Travis for the entirety of their conversation, drew back at that. Travis immediately felt cold and lonely and tried to chase back into his embrace, but Nolan had put one of his _very large_ hands on his chest, holding Travis, literally, at arm’s length.

“Dude, no. We can’t do that.” Nolan had moved off of the bed and started gathering his clothes from around the room, putting them back on. Travis say up and grabbed at his wrist, holding him in place.

“Why can’t we? You’re having fun together right? We’re two sexy single consenting adults, what’s the problem?” Travis asked, wondering if maybe he was just missing something. His attempt at humor he tacked on in hopes of lightening the rapidly souring mood fell flat, as his last question was tinged with his slight agitation. Travis was always quick to anger. Nolan stared at Travis’ hand around his wrist, which had tightened not to the point of being painful but was definitely more noticeable. He put his own hand in the mix, trying to take Travis’ hand _off_ his wrist but to no avail.

“Dude let me go”

“No”

“Trav I’m serious let go of my fucking wrist.” Nolan was beginning to get angry too, with Travis getting increasingly more frustrated by the second at Nolan’s refusal to answer his question.

“Not until you tell me why!” Travis had said in a near shout, his grip tightening with every word. Nolan growled and ripped his arm out of Travis’ grip, almost knocking Travis off balance and leaving him awkwardly leant over, hand still in the air in a loose shape of Nolan’s wrist.

“Because I can't fucking be with you like this!” Nolan yelled, his cheeks flaring a deep red, his normally soft blue eyes turned hard as steel with their screaming match. Travis’ hand dropped out of the air. His mouth hung open. Travis had thought that the only real issue with them being boyfriends would be keeping it from the media. He never _ever_ thought Nolan didn’t want this. Didn’t want him.

Silence filled the room. After the shouting it felt so much worse. Travis could hear his pulse pounding. His next question came out of his voice quieter than he himself had ever been, and so calm and collected that he wasn’t sure _who_ was controlling his voice.

“So you don’t...want me?” Nolan’s eyes dropped their steel in an instant. His jaw unclenched. He looked...Travis wanted to say sad, remorseful, sorry, apologetic. But really, he didn’t know how he looked, because he thought that he knew Nolan, but here he was, having just completely struck out. Nolan didn't know what to say. How do you follow that? How do you tell him that's _not true_? Nolan didn't know. So he did all he could think to do. He ran.

“I’ve gotta go make dinner upstairs, I’ll see you at practice.” Nolan had mumbled before all but running out the door, leaving Travis confused and more than a little upset all alone in his bed. Travis didn’t move, staring after where Nolan had disappeared. How did that go so badly? He thought Nolan had liked him too. Whenever they went out together after a win, girls basically threw themselves at him, at both of them really, they were young good looking famous hockey players, who could blame them? But Nolan, being taller, was often spotted and hit first. And he _always_ said no. He told the girls he had someone waiting for him at home, of course they’d coo at that and talk about how sweet and charming it is to see a _loyal_ guy out there. The first few times it happened Travis was so confused, that when girls came to him they often left solely because he wasn’t focused enough on them to really say anything at all. But when they got home, Nolan would take him right to the bedroom, mumbling lowly about how he wished he didn’t have to wait so _goddamn_ long to be back in bed with Travis. After that, when they’d go out, when Nolan said no, Travis did too. They never brought girls home. Travis thought that Nolan getting an easy one night stand with a girl that he could very easily never see again would have been appealing since the whole reason they _started_ hooking up was because both were seemingly unable to score in bed for what they had each deemed too long. But since Nolan had started seemingly solely hooking up with Travis, and turning down other opportunities, Travis had thought…

He shook his head, clearing it out and got out of bed. He put the sheets in the laundry and set himself up in his living room in front of his TV. They had a day off tomorrow so he could just lose himself to playing Call of Duty, even though he had to keep berating himself for thinking about Nolan whenever he played. Nolan didn’t want to be his boyfriend. That’s fine. Nolan not wanting him was a lot less than fine, but he knew that asking where he went wrong was probably too much for the emotionally stunted man-child that had run upstairs to be in his own apartment to handle. Travis’ only worry now was their fight and how it would affect the team dynamics. He knew that sometimes Nolan needed a break from him, they definitely got on one another’s nerves a lot, but he was worried that after a day off they wouldn’t just snap back to normal. This wasn’t a stupid fight about what boat is better, this was about _feelings_ and shit. Travis himself didn’t necessarily know if he wanted to be _boyfriends_ with Nolan but he thought it was at least worth exploring since they were basically already there anyway. Though, apparently not, Travis had to remind himself. It was difficult for him not to work himself up to anger again about it. What the fuck did Nolan mean he didn’t want him? He wasn’t hooking up with _anyone_ else and when they hooked up Nolan _always_ said how bad he wanted it and needed it and missed it.

Travis got up and paced around his apartment, barely contained rage bubbling just under the surface. He needed to blow off some steam. He stormed over to his closet and got dressed to go out. He was a hot, successful, single, hockey player god damnit, and if Nolan didn’t want him Travis was positive that he’d go out and find somebody who would. Besides, the best way to get over somebody, is to get under somebody else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis thinks he'll be fine without Nolan. Nolan thinks Travis' new coping mechanism is stupid.

That night at the bar Travis met a  _ very _ pretty girl named Karly, who was thrilled to go back to his apartment with him. Thankful that he washed the sheets from that morning, they wasted no time.

Karly had told him that he was _a lot_  rougher than most girls would like, 

"I'm not a boy, you need to be gentle!" she said, to which he panicked until she clarified she thought he was rough because he played hockey, not because - well. But she waved off his sheepish not-real apology and promised him that she didn’t mind, as she had left some marks of her own on him, so long as she could tell him when it was too much, they were fine. She liked to cuddle after. Travis liked cuddling after too. He would need to work on being a little softer, he and Nolan were always pretty rough with one another, but otherwise maybe casual hookups with Karly wouldn’t be so bad. He fell asleep before he could finish his train of thought.

Travis woke up the next morning to someone sucking his dick.

“Nnnn-” he almost got into more of Nolan’s name before all of yesterday crashed back into his head. Their fight. If Nolan wasn’t the one sucking his dick, who was..oh shit. Karly. He reached his hands down slowly and threaded his fingers through her hair. She seemed to like having her hair played with too. An image of Nolan, looking content with Travis’ hand in his hair came to the forefront of his brain. Travis is ashamed to say that’s what he was thinking of when he came.

“Good morning sleepyhead” Karly said as she slid back up his body. Travis gave her a lazy grin and held her close, thinking again that if this was how he’d be woken up, casual sex with Karly wouldn’t be so bad. She gave him her number, and he texted her a smiley face, asking if she’d like to do this again sometime. Her reply was an instantaneous winky face.

The next day he drove to the rink separate from Nolan, as Nolan’s car was already gone when Travis had made his way down to the garage. When he got to the rink he made his rounds, greeting his teammates and the equipment guys before getting to his stall. Nolan’s, which of course was right next to his, because they’re stupidly inseparable lay vacant. Nolan apparently had gotten here early and was already out on the ice. Travis got dressed, ignoring his teammates chirps about the obvious scratches on his back left over from one pretty blonde, and headed out to the rink.

Nolan was taking slapshots. But not normal slapshots, these were like someone was testing him on how hard a shot he could make. He guessed that quieted any potential suspicion from teammates that there was “trouble in paradise” as they’d call it. Occasionally one of them would decide to go a little early to do extra work and they would go separately, it wasn’t super often but it was often enough it was met without question. Everyone had at one point either stayed late or come early. Travis took to the ice and skated a few warm up laps, trying to ignore Nolan without being  _ obvious _ about it. Nolan, if his current activity was any indication, was angry. Travis didn’t know if it was still him Nolan was upset with, so he decided to wait. They were still teammates, and hopefully friends, and when Nolan had cooled down, and Travis felt the hurtful sting of his words a little less, then it’d all be back to normal. Lucky for them since they were young, they were paid little mind by Hak. He cared more about the veteran presence of the team, so as long as none of his teammates figured out that they were slightly avoiding one another, they would be all set.

Practice was pretty unremarkable. Travis had made a couple of errors, as did Nolan, but they were well within the normal range, and with a handful of others making small mistakes, they went entirely unnoticed. Until it was back to the locker room. Travis debated staying late, but honestly he was tired and he wanted to go home and eat. So he got back into the locker room, Nolan was already mostly dressed, seeming to glance at him every so often. Travis tried to shrug it off and began taking off his gear, pulling out his bag to put his clothes back on.

“Daaaamn TK, did you get attacked by an angry cat or have you actually scored some? _. _ ” The locker room erupted in laughter at G’s chirp, but Travis couldn’t hear it. His head whipped over to Nolan, who was sitting there  _ staring _ at the scratches on Travis’ back. His face, ever impassive, was unreadable. He didn’t even register that Travis was looking back at him. He got up and said some short goodbyes, leaving the room still in laughter. Travis watched him leave, before realizing he had yet to answer G’s remark.

“Yeah, well at least we know  _ I’m _ getting some G. What’s your excuse? Getting too predictable in your old age for Ryanne?” he rolled his eyes with the comment, a chorus of “OOOOOOHHHHHHHHs” erupting in the locker room while G ran over and put him in a headlock, grinning and laughing. 

“I could still kick your ass into next week kid, don’t forget that” In this singular moment, it felt like everything would maybe be okay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jealous Nolan coming in for landing! Feat. G being a little bit of a dick because we love him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone seems to know Travis is the solution for ending Nolan's Suffering, except for Travis.  
> Feat. Dad Scott Gordon.

The singular moment was just that: a singular moment. Travis was reminded very often how  _ not okay _ everything was. Nolan came to the skate zone early every day. Travis stayed late every day. Travis spent a lot more time with Karly, trying to get over Nolan, trying to distract himself in any way he could when he lived in the same building and played on the same team as the man who used to be his best friend. It didn’t help that they were currently on a losing streak. When they lost, Nolan was sour. He never talked to anybody, so that wouldn’t give them away. Though clearly everyone had started to figure out that the team’s best bromance was dealing with some stormy weather. Especially once Hak got fired and Gordon came up.

Gordon paid  _ attention _ to the young guys. He  _ talked _ to them, if they weren’t playing super well he sat them down and they talked about  _ why _ . So when Scott Gordon asked to talk to Travis one day, Travis was mortified. He didn’t think he was playing poorly. Sure, he hadn’t been the  _ best _ , but he thought he was okay and wouldn’t need to talk about it. But, coaches orders, he went into his office.

“Don’t worry Konecny, you’re not in trouble, really I just have some questions about your buddy Nolan.” Travis could not believe it. This was not happening. They hadn’t done more than exchange grunts of acknowledgement in  _ weeks _ . The locker room atmosphere had a slight shift, nothing major, but it was noticeable for those that were paying attention to it. Though it too could potentially be blamed on their rapidly sinking rankings. Gordon wasn’t usually in the locker room enough to have noticed, but he  _ was _ out on the ice. Where Patty had been in a bit of a rut. He hadn’t scored in almost two months. It had been since...well, since they fought, but there is  _ no way  _ that was why. Nolan Patrick loved hockey first and everything else second. But oh my god, what if that  _ was  _ why. What if Gordo had called him in to say that he knew everything? Travis would combust on the spot. 

“I talked to him the other day, he was a little sloppy at practice, and he hasn’t been scoring, as I’m sure you know.” Travis was freaking out.  _ Oh god oh god oh god Nolan told him everything what am I supposed to do _ .

“Now. He himself is frustrated with his play, we can all understand, we’ve all been there, but he said he hasn’t been sleeping well lately. Told me he’s got a lot of personal stuff going on. Now I haven’t known him as long as I’ve known some of the other guys, so I don’t want to push too soon if he doesn’t want to share those personal details. But you’re his best buddy on the team, so I hear. So I’m wondering - is he...distracted? If he’s not getting enough sleep - and I am going to tell you now what I am about to say will be awkward, but I have to ask - is there a girl involved? That maybe he’s...seeing? And that’s getting in the way of his sleep schedule?”

Travis didn’t move. Nolan wasn’t sleeping? He looked tired, sure, but they  _ all _ did. He always slept when they were on roadies, though since the two of them weren’t really talking there wasn’t much else to do in their room. Then his mind caught up to Scott Gordon asking if Nolan Patrick wasn’t sleeping because he was having Too Much Sex, and it took almost everything Travis had not to die right there in Scott’s office.

“Uh, n-no coach, last I talked to him he didn’t mention any girls. Uh, sometimes he just...gets in his own head, y’know? I think that gets him.” Travis didn’t know why else Nolan wouldn’t be sleeping at night. Though since Travis had met Karly, and Nolan never came down to his apartment, Travis had no idea whether or not maybe he  _ did  _ have a girl. After all, Travis found one, Nolan for sure could too, right? Scott thanked him quietly and dismissed him, telling him that they’ll both have to keep an eye on Nolan Patrick.

Travis walked right out of the office and straight into G.

“Shit, sorry man,” Travis said while moving to go around him and head home. He had stayed late to keep up the coincidence that he and Nolan weren’t driving together, or really speaking, and then after he had to talk to Scott Gordon about his teammates’ and former hookup buddy’s current sex habits, needless to say he was  _ done for the day _ . But something was wrong. He stayed late, and then even later. Why was G still here?

“Hey G, why are you still here man? Gotta outwork everybody during  _ and _ after practice?” Travis teased, looking over at G and expecting an easy grin, only to stop in his tracks when he saw his captain looking at him with a carefully neutral expression. Claude considered him for a moment, before leaning back against the wall.

“I need to talk to you about Nolan.” Travis groaned.

“G, I  _ just _ talked to Gordon about him, he said Nolan hasn’t been sleeping and wants to know if it’s because a girl is keeping him up at night with all the sex he’s maybe having.” Travis huffed. He didn’t  _ like _ that he didn’t know that about Nolan, that the coach had to ask him for an answer he genuinely didn’t have because he couldn’t just  _ ask  _ his teammate, who used to be his  _ best friend _ because they had a  _ stupid fight _ about  _ stupid feelings _ . He thought that telling G that their coach was asking about Nolan’s sex life would maybe get a chuckle, but still he got nothing. Travis was getting worried. How much was going on with Nolan that he didn’t know about? G cut through his thoughts with a sniper’s accuracy, accusing him of the one thing Travis didn’t want to even have to admit to himself, much less anybody else.

“You couldn’t answer his question, could you Travis?” Travis froze. Staring at G, who leveled him with a cool stare himself.

“You couldn’t answer his question because you and Nolan have been fucking fighting about  _ god knows what _ for months. And don’t you  _ dare _ tell me it’s just a stupid little fight. Everyone in the locker room knows something went down, but nobody knows what. This isn’t like that time that you got in a fight about whether or not you put ketchup on eggs, or how to cut toast, because that was all dumb shit that was fixed within a day.  _ Those _ were stupid little fights. Everyone is worried about you, and everyone is worried about Patty. Now I’m not gonna make you tell me whatever the fuck it is going on between you two, but I  _ am _ going to tell you that you need to fix it. You two may think you’re being sneaky, but literally everyone knows that something is up. So you’ve been caught, the jig is up, now  _ fix. it. _ ” G asked Travis if he was clear, in which Travis mumbled out an affirmation  _ finally _ saw G crack a smile.

He was right. They needed to fix this. Travis found someone who wanted him, which was what he wanted, and as a result Nolan wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with him that way, which apparently was what Nolan wanted. So maybe he could go up and ask if they could just go back to being friends. God he felt like he was in third grade again, asking someone if they’ll be his friend again after he did some stupid mean thing that children do. Except in this case Nolan was the mean one. Whatever, new start, clean slate. When G released him, he drove home, a man on a mission.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pro Tip: Nolan sleeps on roadies because Travis is there


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis doesn't let Nolan say a goddamn thing and ends up somehow More Confused because of it. But, things are looking up!  
> Nolan might be taking advantage of Travis' rekindled friendship, but neither one of them seems to mind.

He knocked on Nolan’s apartment door, wondering if coming without any real plan was a good idea. He was going to turn around when the door opened. There was Nolan. He didn’t really get a good look at him at the skate zone, but seeing him up close he looked really tired.

“Can I come in? I feel like we should talk.” Travis looked up at him, quickly adding “Nothing bad! I promise”, because he knew how _we should talk_ often sounds. Nolan just nodded and walked into his living room, leaving the door an open invitation for Travis to follow.  Travis shut the door and stood in the living room with his teammate. For a long moment, all they did was stare at one another. Travis was frustrated that Nolan was guarding his features, he couldn’t get a good read on where he was at, like, emotionally.

“You look tired, Patty. Are you okay?” The observation slipped out before he could stop it, and he knew the answer, just like he was sure Nolan probably wasn’t okay, since they were each other’s best friends and got into a rather large fight. Still. Friends ask, right? Right. And maybe he’d tell Travis more than he told Gordon.

Nolan’s eyes shifted around the apartment, avoiding looking directly at Travis when he answered with a mumbled “I haven’t been sleeping well”. Travis looked down at his hands, not sure what to do. He was hoping to get a little more than that, but knew he wouldn’t. Nolan Patrick wasn’t one for communicating how he was feeling, much less with a guy he hasn’t ralked to outside of strict necessity for almost two months. He was being extremely presumptuous to think that this all happened because of their fight. But the timeline suggested it. He knew Nolan was upset about their fight too, but didn’t think he’d _literally lose sleep over it_. Still, it was a good sign, in a twisted way. Nolan still cared about Travis.

“I...yeah. Well. I think I can help with that. If you’ll let me.” Travis looked back up at Nolan. The man looked stunned. Suddenly realizing what implications there could be to his words, Travis backpedaled quickly.

“N-not like that! That’s. No, I. You made it clear you don’t want. That. And I won’t lie Patty that does hurt. I thought - well, it doesn’t matter what I thought - what matters is how you felt and I shouldn’t question that, so I’m sorry I tried to force you to continue doing something you didn’t want. But good news is I’ve maybe found somebody? Uh, as you’ve seen in the locker room” He let out an uneasy, awkward chuckle at the recollection before ploughing on.

“She’s cool. She’s pretty. She wants me and is on board for casual sex, so I don’t - we aren’t - can we please just go back to being friends? Yes what you said hurt me but I just really miss you. I’ve gotten a few good chirps in on G and all I wanted was to share those with you. So can we be friends again?” Travis knew he had started rambling, and was probably throwing _way too much_ at Nolan at once, and one look up at him showed he looked like he was a deer in headlights. Once again, the two boys were left staring at one another. Travis, feeling awkward and like maybe he had overstepped and Nolan needed some more time still - _maybe he did find a girl and Gordon was right and they’re having wild sex all the time and I’m making this about me and us when I should be making it about him and her and oh **god** what if she's here  **right now** and i just interrupted them having wild sex _ \- Travis started up again, this time on an apology rant.

“I’m sorry I know I just kinda threw a lot at you and I know I should just give you some more space and let you come back when you’re ready unless you don’t want to ever which would make me sad but whether or not I’m _your_ friend, you’re _my_ friend and that means I want you to be happy even if that means you want to be friends with other people. So I’m sorry I interrupted your alone time, or...if I interrupted...something. I’ll be downstairs if you need me - or just - yeah.” Travis high tailed it all the way down to his apartment, closing the door and leaning against it, his heart hammering. God, even after months of trying to put it behind him and being with Karly and Nolan looking like a tired greasy gremlin, he still managed to look _so good_. Travis was doomed.

As Travis was getting ready to go to sleep, he got a text. From Nolan. He opened it quickly.

_Can we still be friends even after you told all our fans we’re not friends anymore? :(_

Travis laughed. He couldn’t stop laughing. He was relieved. He had his best friend back.

 _They didn’t believe me, they know us too well_ he replied. Then _You sure you wanna be friends with a troublemaker like me?_ He thought he wouldn’t hear back until tomorrow, since it was gonna be game day and they both liked to go to bed early, but Nolan had responded right away.

 _I don’t have much of a choice do I?_ And then, in a separate text all by itself: _Idiot._

Travis could’ve cried. Things were looking up. Sure he still thought about him and Nolan doing stuff in bed when he was alone at night instead of Karly, and he _did_ feel bad about it, but since she knew they were just casual, maybe it was okay. Karly wanted him, and Nolan at least was willing to be his friend, and that was all he could ask for.

For the first time in two months, Nolan Patrick got a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep. On game day, he scored his first goal in the same amount of time. Nolan was the one who scored, but G still leaned over to Travis on the bench and said

“Good job.” Travis smiled at him, and then looked over at Gordon, who was looking back at him. Maybe he was crazy, but he could’ve sworn that he saw Scott throw him a sly wink. Back in the locker room, Travis danced his way around, making his rounds through the equipment guys, eyes landing on Nolan, who, just like he used to, stood at the other end of the room and watched Travis dance his way towards him. There was no smile, but Nolan did call him an idiot. Maybe they weren’t back at the friendship level where Travis could make Nolan smile by dancing.

Nolan was slammed with post-game interviews, so Travis waited for him. They had driven in together, after all. Travis was able to completely shower and change before Nolan was finished, fucking around on his phone in the nearly empty locker room when the drought-ender approached, still very much in his undershirt and pants from the game.

“Congrats! That was awesome! Well what do you say buddy? Anything you want, my treat! Let’s do it!” Travis was excited, rambling about getting sushi or cheesesteaks or going to the movies. It looked like everything was finally turning around. Nolan smirked, still flushed from the game, his fingers running through his hair, his tongue swooping out to wet his lips. Travis, who is considerably shorter than Nolan, was already looking at his mouth, but after the lick of the lips he was transfixed on it. He shook his head to clear his impure thoughts and looked up into his friend’s eyes, his open and friendly smile countering Nolan’s smirk that grew more predatory by the second after catching Travis’ eyes.

“Well there is something I’ve been wanting for a little bit now. Haven’t gotten it in a while...” Nolan had trailed off before cornering Travis and kissing him hard. Travis’ hands flew back, bracing him against the wall. Nolan pulled away, kissing down Travis’ jaw before continuing his request.

“I want you to fuck me. Right here in your stall.” Nolan was breathing heavy, though if that was because of the game or his current proposal Travis wasn’t sure. His brain stopped altogether. His dick decided to join the party though, and say that _hey that’d be a fine idea, you did say_ _whatever he wants_. Travis stared at Nolan for a moment, confused but also not about to complain in any way. Nolan kissed him hard again, hands unbuttoning his dress shirt before he pulled away again to kiss down the Travis’ neck. Nolan stepped back, still in arm’s reach, but just took a moment to admire Travis. This confused Travis. They hadn’t done anything yet, he hadn’t done anything hard enough to leave a mark yet. Slowly going crazy with how Nolan was looking at him like he wanted to eat him, Travis grabbed him by his undershirt collar and pulled him back so they were nose-to-nose.

At least, that was the intention. It worked pretty well, but the audible tear in fabric echoed throughout the room. Travis looked down and saw he had torn Nolan’s shirt.

“Shit, sorry. Fuck.” Travis stopped to look at the damage. He had ripped through the collar so now it looked like a shitty DIY V-neck. And it would only get worse throughout the season as it kept getting stretched out. Nolan looked down at it and back up at him.

“I’m gonna have to take the fall for this now, asshole.” Travis grimaced, apologizing again when Nolan took it the rest of the way off, throwing it on the floor.

“Wait wait wait, before we get too far into this...You want me?” Travis asked, confusion tinted with the tiniest bit of hope in his voice. Nolan looked at him with the same desperation in his eyes that he sometimes has on the ice, and Travis almost shrunk under the intensity.

“God yes Trav I want you so bad it’s been too long _please_ just fuck me.”

So Travis did just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NGL maybe them fucking isn't the best idea ever but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯   
> boys will be boys as they say  
> Nolan you little fucker  
> ALSO I know this isn't really how his undershirt got ripped but I like to imagine it is.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nolan gets wasted and speaks his inner truths. Travis just continues to confuse himself.

Travis was 100% positive that going right back to how this whole fight started was a terrible idea. But he was weak. Nolan had said he wanted him, right? And since that game day, he’s been around a lot more often. He’s still in his own apartment a lot, but he at least goes down to Travis’ to hang out sometimes. On the road their room is no longer uncomfortable, deafening silence. Usually Travis calls Karly while Nolan watches TV or plays whatever videogame they packed for the trip. That was one thing that was weird. Karly was wanting to hang out a lot more too. She was nice, and Travis really liked her, so he felt guilty about his reward for Nolan’s drought ending goal. She didn’t know, of course, and he planned to keep it that way, but it made him think about Nolan’s girl. Was he feeling guilty too? Was that why they hadn’t hooked up again since the night in the locker room? Travis didn’t know. He was too tired to think about it. Tomorrow was game day, and since they had some time before the game after, they’d be staying in the current hotel for a second night. Travis always liked when they did that. It meant that when they won they got to explore and go out in a new city.

They won, somehow, their winning streak was going strong and everyone was feeling the high. They all went out to some local bar down the street from the hotel. A few girls had come up to Travis after taking interest in him, but he turned them down, sorrowfully telling them about how he was staying in a shared hotel room. Those that didn’t have to share rooms were a different story, but no way was anyone who did going to do anything. Though he did see Nolan talking to a girl...in as stealthy a way as possible, Travis meandered up to the bar and hung out behind Nolan, so Nolan couldn’t see him, but Travis could hear him.

“So what are you doing tonight? If you want someone to show you around the city I’d be happy to show you the way to my place.” Travis didn’t move, just waited for Nolan to tell her that he was sharing a room and would be missed if he did not return. He almost dropped his glass when he heard Nolan tell her

“I’m sorry, you’re very beautiful, but I have someone waiting for me back at my place.” Travis was trying to wrap his head around it. Nolan used to say that about him back when they were an almost couple, but now? They’re nowhere close. They’re back to being just friends. Nolan doesn’t talk to him about that girl Scott asked about, and Travis doesn’t talk about Karly. It’d just be awkward. But Nolan saying someone is there? Could it be the girl? Did he fly her out to see them? Why didn’t Travis know about any of it?

Travis left for the hotel, going to grab his stuff out of the room and see if he could bunk with someone who had a single room but _wasn’t_ bringing someone extra back. He didn’t like the thought of Nolan hooking up with his - _girlfriend?_ \- whoever in _their_ hotel room, but he wasn’t going to be an asshole. So, he’d bunk with someone else for the night. G would let him, probably. Even if he gave TK a hard time about it. Travis got back to the hotel room and found it empty. There wasn’t anybody in here. Was the girl Nolan was talking about somewhere else? Was Nolan not coming back to the room? If not why would he tell that other girl he had someone waiting at his place? Travis didn’t like that he didn’t know what was going on. He needed to ask Nolan again what the fuck they were doing, _without_ starting a fight this time, because him over analyzing everything Nolan said and did was taking its toll. While he made his game plan, there was a loud knock on the door. He got up and found Provy and Ghost holding up a _very drunk_ Nolan on the other side. He swung the door open immediately, the two D-men dragging Nolan inside.

“I think this is yours” Provy said, barely able to contain his laughter.

“I saw you leave to come back here, but _this one_ ” Ghost had accentuated with a heft of the arm slung over his shoulders, the motion of which shifted Nolan as he grumbled. “has been looking for you for the past hour.” Travis was shocked he was even gone that long. As soon as Shayne finished talking, Nolan picked his head up and recognized Travis. “Teeks!” He grumbled, fighting to get out of Shayne and Ivan’s grips to get to Travis.

“I’ve been lookin everywhere for you!” He was slurring wildly, and finally broke free, basically collapsing onto Travis, who could barely hold him up. He was more draped over him than anything.

“Well, anyway, uh, no delivery charge, he’s all yours, goodnight!” Provy said before he and Ghost ran back out the door, presumably to find other hapless victims.

The hotel door shut and Nolan heaved a big sigh as Travis waddled them over to the beds.

“I missed you” Nolan grumbled into Travis’ shoulder. Travis tried not to think about it and just put Nolan in bed. He let out a soft huff.

“I missed you too Patty. Now go to sleep.” Travis threw a blanket over him and stood up to go grab a water bottle to leave on his nightstand when Nolan clumsily, but still surprisingly quickly, grabbed his wrist.

“Wait don’t leave you gotta stay.” Travis looked down at Nolan. His hair was a complete mess, his cheeks were bright red as always, and his eyes were pleading. Travis just looked at him, this beautiful mess of a boy.

“I’m not leaving Patty. I promise.” Nolan smiled a dopey drunk smile, pulling Travis’ wrist up against his mouth. Instead of kissing it he kind of just hummed against it, which, weird, but Travis was pretty sure Nolan wasn’t going to remember _any of this_ in the morning. So he just indulged his friend, even though them indulging one another had never lead to anything good.

“Mmmm good. I like me when we’re like this.” Travis was caught completely off guard. Nolan didn’t talk about feelings, or express much, but here he was. Travis didn’t know what he meant by that comment though, and seeing as Nolan was already passed out and drooling on his pillow, now wouldn’t be when he got to ask.  He gently removed his wrist from Nolan’s grip, and went to grab a bottle of gatorade to put next to Nolan’s bed, before climbing into his own. Figuring out what Nolan thought about the two of them could wait. Figuring out what Nolan thought about himself seemed like the far more pressing matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Provy and Ghost like "Here this is your problem now" is a mood tbh.  
> Also drunk Nolan??? He's so big? But clearly wants to be cuddly? I'm. You know what they say, a drunk has a sober tongue.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis Konecny shows self control for Once in his Life. Nolan Patrick continues to be peak dumbass and not know how to talk. They argue, because they are idiots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Travis Konecny's locker room victory dances I don't know about you guys

They had just won, in OT, thanks to Travis, who scored his first goal on the Power Play earlier in the game, and then also scored the game winner against the Red Wings. Back in the locker room he danced his way around, and headed back over to his stall to find Nolan sitting next to it. Nolan got up as he approached and gave him a tiny smile, repeatedly telling Travis to stop with his stupid dance because it was “fucking embarrassing”. When Travis did stop, Nolan gave him a bro-hug. He held on a touch longer than would be strictly platonic, but nobody seemed to be paying them any mind, so he whispered his intended question into Travis’ ear.

“How about it big bad? Two goals? That’s pretty good. I’ll give you anything you want. So what’ll you have?” Travis glanced around the locker room. Everyone was busy talking to reporters or getting dressed, nobody was paying them any attention. After all, they did bromance shit in the locker room all the time, so who cares? But Travis, remembering his plan from a few weeks prior, knew he couldn’t just take Nolan up on his offer for his body. Though maybe if he got the answers to his questions...Either way. Questions first. Travis pulled away and looked into Nolan’s eyes, trying to be soft but firm.

“I have questions, Patty. I want your answers to them.” Nolan looked surprised, a little hesitant, and a lot unsure.

“Not here, up at the hotel. In private.” Travis amended, and watched as Nolan still looked surprised but was no longer concerned. So they got changed and went home, sitting on the couch a healthy distance apart. Nolan was fidgeting. Travis tried to figure out how to broach the subject.

“Y’know, since I scored TWO goals...do I get TWO things?” Travis asked, smiling over at Nolan. He saw the boy look over at him, a twitch of a smile on his lips, and a twinkle in his eye. Nolan appeared to ponder the question for a moment, before agreeing that that seemed fair. He looked more relaxed, and Travis felt a little bit bad for most likely going to make this uncomfortable, but he _had_ to know.

“Nolan...a few weeks ago, when we were on the road and Ghost and Provy carried you back to our room...do you remember that?” He asked gently. Nolan looked at him, confused.

“I mean I remember them telling me they knew where you were, and that they’d take me there, but that’s it. Why? Did you take video? Can I see it?” Nolan was trying to deflect with humor. Travis knew because he did the same thing. Travis reached out and grabbed Nolan’s hand, squeezing it gently.

“Nolan, that night you told me that you liked _you_ when we’re ‘like this’, what did that mean?” Travis turned so he was fully facing him, willing to sit still and wait, in these moments, for Nolan to open up to him. Nolan looked shocked. Like Travis had uncovered some secret that nobody was supposed to know. Knowing Nolan, that wasn’t far off. He seemed to take a moment to gather himself before speaking.

“I dunno, I mean. When I’m with you and we’re in here, or in our hotel room, I can just be me without being Mr. #2 Overall. You know? With you, in private, I can just be Nolan. I like it. I like that I have a place to do that and I can just be me and nobody cares.” Travis was taking in all of this information. He knew the draft was stressful, and the whole one-or-two articles never help, but he didn’t realize that Nolan felt like he had to be a different person when he was seen by the outside. Suddenly everything made more sense. Why Nolan always freaked out whenever Travis would be less than subtle about their arrangement in the locker room, why Nolan never seemed to really cut loose and just have fun, why he didn’t smile as easily, why he hated the media _so much_ . Travis just never realized that Nolan wasn’t him being annoyed with Travis, but hating his Second Overall Pick Persona. He was the only one Nolan felt this safe around? To be _himself_? Travis felt extremely lucky and extremely angry at the same time. Nolan shouldn’t have to hide himself away from the world.

“You shouldn’t hide yourself away. Show them the real you! They’ll love you. Remember when you told them about the ham sandwiches? They loved it!” Travis soothed.  Then he remembered once again that Nolan said Travis was the _only one_ he felt like that around.

“Wait, everyone? What about that girl?” Travis asked and immediately wished he hadn’t. This was about _Nolan_ , not Travis’ stupid jealousy over whatever beautiful girl Nolan was hooking up with or dating instead of wanting to date Travis, or whatever. But Nolan just looked at him and looked completely lost.

“Teeks what girl? What are you talking about?” Travis now was also confused. They both just looked at one another.

“The girl! The one you couldn’t sleep because of! Gordo called me into his office cause you told him you weren’t sleeping and he told me he thinks you’ve got a girl you’re having all this wild crazy sex with and that’s getting in the way of your sleep schedule!” Travis exclaimed, slightly annoyed that Nolan wasn’t forthcoming with his endeavors. Travis’ brows furrowed further into a pout when Nolan started laughing.

“I’m sorry - you - _GORDO_ \- thought I wasn’t sleeping, and wasn’t scoring on the ice because I was scoring _off_ the ice? And he told _you_ that he needed to know if I was having wild sexy escapades with random women?” Nolan wheezed out. He was almost crying he was laughing so hard. Travis didn’t get what was so funny. So he asked.   
“Why is this so funny I don’t understand! I was _mortified_!”

“You fucking idiot, there was no girl! He _asked you_ if there was, right?” Travis started to feel a knot form as he slowly figured out what happened.

“Yeah...he asked me.”

“And - and let me get this straight - because he _asked you if there was a girl_ , you _thought there_ _was_ a girl?” Travis felt extremely sheepish. That was exactly what happened. But Gordo always somehow seemed to know what was going on, so Travis thought...Meanwhile, Nolan turned so he too was fully facing Travis.

“I wasn’t not sleeping because I was having sex with some random girl, you idiot. I wasn’t sleeping because we got in a fight and you replaced me within a day.” Nolan said, his voice barely above a murmur. Travis was stunned.

“You - you weren’t sleeping because I started sleeping with Karly?” Travis asked, watching Nolan pointedly make a face when Travis brought her up. Travis felt...conflicted. The only reason Travis had slept with Karly in the first place was because Nolan had said he didn’t want him. Nolan now saying that he was in a slump because Travis was sleeping with somebody?

“Dude, what the fuck?” Nolan looked up in surprise, there was a sharper edge in Travis’ eyes.

“You - you couldn’t sleep because you were torn up over _me_ sleeping with someone else, after you _screamed_ about how you _didn’t want me?_ In what world is that fucking fair, Nolan?”

Nolan opened his mouth to answer, but Travis cut him off

“The _only_ reason I started to be with her is because you _didn’t want to be with me_!” Travis Said, his voice raising slightly. Nolan stared at him, unsure of what to say.

“Teeks...not to be that guy, but that’s kinda shitty bro”. Travis exploded.

“You think I don’t fucking know that? You think I feel good about the fact that I only ask her to come over when I need a distraction from thinking about _you_ ? Because I don’t! But _she_ wants to be with me, and you don’t, so yeah, we’ve slept together a handful of times because I’d rather sleep with someone who wants me than someone who doesn’t! But she’s not my girlfriend because I couldn’t ask her to be my girlfriend when I’m still sitting here hoping you’ll knock on my door and say you want to be with me!” Nolan just stared.

“Teeks, I…” Travis cut him off yet again

“You said in the locker room that you wanted me. Was that true?”

“ _Yes_ ” Nolan pleaded, reaching out for Travis’ hands and bringing them up to his mouth. Before he could kiss them, Travis pulled them back.

“Then why won’t you be with me?” Travis asked, his voice cracking slightly as he just struggled to _understand_. Nolan sighed.

“Because I can’t.” Nolan looked up at Travis, and saw all the rage and pain he knew he deserved.

“Can’t? Or Won’t? Because to be honest, you’re Nolan _fucking_ Patrick, and there are very few things that you _can’t_ do. No, you _can’t_ control if we’re lineys, but just like I said months ago, we _can_ control being together. So which is it? Is it can’t, or is it won’t?” Nolan didn’t know what to say. He hated this.

“I don’t want us to fight about this again. That was terrible.” Nolan said quietly. Travis held his gaze, collecting himself slowly before he answered.

“Fine. Then here’s what happens. We’re either _just friends_ , or we’re _together_ . None of this in between shit anymore. I _won’t_ do that. I _could_ , but we did before and I _will not_ , not when there is someone out there somewhere who wants to be with me when you won’t. Nolan moved to sit closer to Travis, but the man stood up before he could.

“I think you should go. You have a lot to think about.” Nolan wanted to argue, to fight to stay, but he didn’t know what to say. In reality, they were sharing this hotel room, and he would have to come back later, obviously, but he for now would do as Travis wished, and go wander the hotel for a while. On his way out the door Travis shouted one more thing at him.

“Hey! You’re still my friend, idiot. I just don’t like being dragged around, okay?” Nolan nodded, a small smile gracing his lips as he slipped out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Travis for getting some gosh darn answers from this idiot that is Nolan Patrick, even if they're not all answers he's expecting.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Stadium Series draws closer, Nolan has some shit to figure out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end folks! If you've made it this far thank you!

They won the next day, no thanks to Nolan, and lost the next two games. Nolan didn’t score or get an assist in any of them. Travis helped out in all three. Nolan also hadn’t answered Travis’ question. So they were riding their slightly-awkward but not as bad as the scoring drought friends only train all the way to the Stadium Series. It was only really weird when Travis would catch Nolan just, staring at him. Which happened  _ a lot _ . Any time Travis was doing basically  _ anything _ , Nolan was watching. It was like he was waiting for something, or just, considering every life choice he ever made, it was hard to tell with his stupid neutral face. Travis knew he wasn’t going to get an answer on Saturday against the Penguins. After learning how terrified Nolan was about anyone finding out anything about his personal life and leaking it to the public, shattering his Mr. Second Overall illusion of grandeur, Travis could safely bet that he wouldn’t answer for a while. If he ever did. Their job was entertainment, they were followed 24/7. But Travis didn’t see why they couldn’t have their nice moments of domesticity in their hotel room or their apartments. Saturday came, and Nolan had an extra edge. Extra focus, extra drive, extra everything. Travis found it incredibly attractive. He knew they all had something extra today. There were going to be 70,000 screaming fans out there watching  _ them _ . While Travis was boundless energy, Nolan was calm. Sure. Steady. Travis hated that he found that attractive too.

 

They were tied up after the first period. In the locker room they were all trying to keep each other hype. Nolan could hear Keith fucking Urban playing outside. Who the  _ fuck _ thought slow country music, or even country music  _ at all _ belonged at a hockey game? He sat there, deadpan, and considered his life choices.  _ If I went first overall I’d have gone to the Devils. They probably don’t book fucking country singers for this shit _ was one. The one followed immediately after was  _ Travis what the fuck are you doing _ as he looked up to find Travis  _ dancing _ , of  _ course _ he was fucking dancing, to Keith Fucking Urban. Nolan stared at him. Face as neutral as possible, as Travis Fucking Konecny had the  _ time of his life _ listening to Keith Urban at a Hockey Game. The Eagles locker room was huge. So Travis starting all the way at the other end, well, nobody paid him any goddamn attention by the time he made his way over to Nolan.

“You really are just - like this - all the time, aren’t you?” Nolan chirped. Travis looked at him, big grin on his face and countered

“Yeeeehaw boy yes I am! You can take it or leave it” He said, with a brow raise and a slight probing look at Nolan to see if maybe he’d  _ made up his goddamn mind _ . Before Nolan could open his mouth, they were back out on the ice.

The rest of the game went by in a blur. Except, when Nolan looked to his wingers and saw that they were G, and, of course, Teeks.  _ Can’t control being lineys, eh? _ He thought, looking at Travis and seeing that he was thinking around the same thing. He smiled at him, and they battled on against Pittsburgh.

Nolan got the assist to G’s Game Winning OT goal.

He made his way into the locker room, and he heard the music. Nolan, in one stupid adrenaline fueled idea, knew  _ exactly _ what he needed to do. He saw Travis come in, all the way across the room. Nolan saw the camera, too, but  _ fuck it _ , he thought.  _ We just won the fucking Stadium Series, I can do this once _ . Nolan watched Travis put his arms down and greet the first equipment handler with a personalized fist bump. Nolan started dancing. Travis spotted him, and Nolan saw the blinding grin that Travis was directing at him, as Travis too, started dancing. Both doing the same stupid wobbly step and arm motions slowly towards one another. Nobody was paying any fucking attention, they saw this shit all the goddamn time. Travis reached him in the middle of the room and smacked him lightly on the stomach. The camera person then turned away to film something probably more interesting than two 20 year old idiots dancing at one another in a locker room.

“What are you doing?? Did I finally convert you to the glorious self expression that is dance?” Travis asked playfully, walking back over towards their stalls. Nolan fell in stride with him easily, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and kissing the top of his head. Travis froze and pushed away from Nolan, frustration starting to creep into his expression.

“Pat what did I fucking tell you  _ last week _ , I -” Nolan didn’t let him finish. He swooped in and kissed Travis, gently, lightly, with no real urgency. He pulled away and smiled at him.

“What, I can’t dance and kiss with my boyfriend after we beat Pittsburgh?” Travis stopped, frantically looking around the locker room. Everyone was whooping and getting changed, the media crew wasn’t coming back until the helmet came out. Nobody noticed. Or - since a few teammates gave occasional sweeping glances - Simmer & G, mainly - maybe they just...didn’t care. He looked back to Nolan, patient and hopeful smile on his face.

“That is - if you’ll have me. I know I’ve been a real dick about this whole thing, but I did mean it when I said I like me the most when we’re like this.” Travis pretended to consider it for a moment, if only to make Nolan sweat it just the  _ tiniest  _ bit. He took off his gear slowly, watching Nolan fidget beside him. He had to admit, for Nolan this was a kinda big step. Showing the locker room who he was in private. Travis not giving him an immediate answer was making him second guess everything. Travis pulled off all his pads and looked at Nolan.

“I don’t know Patty…” Travis started, pausing intentionally to take off his undershirt. Nolan looked hurt, but schooled his features into neutrality. Travis threw the shirt into his stall and gave Nolan a smirk

“Can you handle  _ all this _ ?” Travis asked, gesturing to his sweaty torso and thigh muscles. Nolan, for once in his  _ entire life _ , knew  _ exactly _ what to say. He crowded into Travis’ locker with him, and leaned down so that their lips were brushing before he said it - 

“ _ I can, and I will _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank y'all so much for reading! I probably botched the timeline and the details but this is my first attempt at a slow burn...Can you believe when I started writing this the only parts I wanted to have in it were essentially the first chapter and the last bit of this chapter?  
> It got away from me...  
> Please give constructive critissm! I'd love to hear what y'all have to say!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know your comments! I love constructive critisism!


End file.
